Thousands attend wake of fallen Worcester firefighter

WORCESTER, Mass. (WLNE) — It was a somber event Friday during the wake of a Worcester firefighter killed in the line of duty.

Thousands of people lined up outside of St. John’s Church to wait for their chance to give one final salute to Christopher Roy.

Other fire departments covered shifts for Worchester firefighters so they could attend Friday’s wake and the funeral that will take place on Saturday.

“The mutual aid, the brotherhood of the fire service, they are all asking to come into the city and help us…we feel really, really good that these other agencies are able to come in here and provide top notch service to the citizens of Worcester,” Lt. Michael Papagni of the Worcester Fire Department said.

Christopher Roy’s funeral will be at St. John’s at 10 a.m. followed by the burial at Notre Dame Cemetery.

He died Sunday morning while he battled a fast-moving fire at a home on Lowell Street.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2018